Freelance statistics are a great way to show you how you’re not alone in wanting to go freelance, how others are finding the freelance environment and how freelancers contribute to the overall economy.

Following yesterday’s post and discussion on the 5 new types of freelancers, I’ve pulled together more freelance stats from the US, UK and further afield for you to get an idea of how freelancers are faring across the world. Arm yourself with these stats if anyone asks you “Why would you want to go freelance?” and show them that you’re not alone!

In 2013, the number of businesses hiring freelancers online increased 46%

Payments to freelancers increased 37% year on year

The average hourly rate for UK freelancers increased 6.7% in 2013

IT & Programming (at 41% of all hires); Design & Multimedia (24%) and Writing & Translation (18%) make up the majority of freelance jobs online

A February 2014 report on Gen Y and Freelancing looked at “the transformation of UK graduate career aspirations and what this means for businesses”. Here are the key stats from the report:

Freelancing is now seen as a highly attractive and lucrative career option by 87% of students with first or second class degrees

his compares to 77% of those with lower class degrees.

21% of graduates with first class honours say they have already chosen to work as a freelancer, suggesting that the freelance economy’ is beginning to take hold among those graduates with the strongest degree results

29% of all graduates say freelancing is part of their career strategy for the next five years, a fact that suggests the freelance economy will continue to gather pace in the UK

The flexibility offered by freelancing is cited as the biggest career draw, with over two thirds (69%) of all graduates saying they feel independent work offers them a better work-life balance.

The opportunity to work on a variety of different projects and across sectors is also appealing, with over a third (38%) saying this is a significant pull

Respondents are also attracted to the earning potential of freelance work with 38% saying they feel they can earn as much, if not more than they could in a traditional job

Elance data shows that the average hourly rate for UK freelancers increased 6.7% in 2013

The Labour Force Survey, conducted by the Office of National Statistics, showed a breakdown of the self-employed by sector:

Senior Managers — 15% self-employed

IT Professionals — 13% self-employed

Engineering Professionals — 12 %

‘Associate Professionals’ in Design and Media — 40%

‘Skilled tradespeople’ in construction — 56%

European Freelance Statistics

According to a report called “Future Working: The Rise of Europe’s Independent Professionals”, the European freelance economy looks like the following:

Freelance numbers have increased by 45% from just under 6.2 million to 8.9 million in 2013, making them the fastest growing group in the EU labour market